BENEDETTA NAPOLITANO

Benedetta Martelotta Napolitano, loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, died on Thursday, April 18, 2013 at Elant in Goshen. She was 96.

The daughter of the late Nicolo and Mariana Centrone Martelotta, she was born on September 8, 1916 in Monopoli, Bari, Italy. She married Phillip Napolitano in 1939, they came to the United States in 1953. Benedetta was a faithful member of St. Joseph's R.C. Church in Middletown. She worked as a seamstress for Calvert Coat in Middletown for many years but spent most of her life as a homemaker who took care of her family. She was a religious woman who loved to cook, sew and garden. She formed many close friendships and enjoyed socializing with friends and relatives. Her greatest pleasures included cooking holiday meals for large family gatherings.

She is survived by her children and their families: son, Leonard Napolitano and his wife, Arlene Critelli, their children, Christine Giacchi and her husband, Carmelo and their children, Laura, Gianni and Brian; Leonard Napolitano and his wife, Debi, and their children, Anthony and Jenna; Brian Napolitano and his life partner, Chris Phillips and their son, Archer Phillips-Napolitano; Benedetta's son, Nicolo Napolitano and his children, Nick and Lee; Mario Napolitano and his wife, Darlene Sontag and their son, Kristofer and his children, Juliano and Rae Anne; Angela DiBello and her children, Laura and Lisa and grandchildren, Elisa and Sophia; Maria Killian and her children, Douglas and John and grandchildren, Nicole, Brian, Michael, Gianna and Maxwell; Anna Mansueto and her children, Candida and Dr. Andrew Combs, Phillip and Jackie, Rocco and Stephanie and Michael and their children, Nina, Taylor and Sophia; one brother, Stefano Martelotta and one sister, Sr. Josephine Martelotta, as well as many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband, Phillip in May 1975, two brothers, Mariano and Tomaso and one granddaughter, Marisa in 1981.

Visitation hours are from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 21st, at Applebee-McPhillips Funeral Home, Inc., 130 Highland Avenue, Middletown, NY 10940. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Monday, April 22nd, at St. Joseph's Church, 149 Cottage Street, Middletown, NY 10940. Burial will follow in the family plot in St. Joseph's Cemetery in Middletown, NY.

Arrangements are under the direction of Applebee-McPhillips Funeral Home, Inc.